Method of and apparatus for forming sheet material



Nov. 14, 1939. A. E. COLLINS METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING SHEET MATERIAL Filed May 7, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 14, 1939. A. E. COLLINS 2,179,842

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING SHEET MATERIAL Filed May 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y Q( 36 /6 Q 55 5 56 68 'fg' *n.26 1 45 /2/ 2, o 4s' ,"t-Ifx (VT mf 15 62 i 24 I 54 l 22 25. J0 60 i A 6l I 29.' a/ ,lr/fo i 25 27` i I l `of` v l l il 58 Patented Nov. 14, '1939 UNITED STATES Arthur E. Collins, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assigner to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New- York 4 Application May 7, 1937, Serial No. 141,286

20 Claims.

This inventionrelates to methods of and apparatus for forming sheet material, and is'especially useful in the forming of pleats in unvulcanized or partially vulcanized sheet rubber or similar plastic material. For example, the invention is applicable to the making of the pleated sheet material disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Mary Hajoway, Serial No. 119,420, led January 7, 1937.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide economy, eiliciency, and precision of operation and uniformity of product, and to provide for variation of design in the finished material.

Other objects will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus in its preferred form, showing the partially formed sheet of material, parts being broken away and parts shown in section to reveal the mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing one end of the apparatus, the other end being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the eccentric shafts.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus, part of the gear housing being broken away.

Fig. 6 is a detail view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the sheet material, the feed belt, and its supporting anvil plate, in the position assumed by the parts in adhering the sheets to the belt as the initial operation of forming a pleat.

Fig. 'l is a similar view showing the parts in the positions they assume in adhering the sheet to itself to complete the pleat. t

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the ratchet feed mechanism.

The apparatus of the illustrative embodiment generally comprises a pair of pressing members between which the sheet material is fed into engagement with a conveyor-belt, with means for alternately pressing the members toward the belt, the movements of the members being directed with relation to the belt so that each crosses in its pressing movement the path of the other in its alternate pressing movement, the conveyor belt being advanced between sets of pressing movements and the sheet material being temporarily adhered to the belt in pleated form.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral III designates the frame of the machine, on which a round table II is rigidly supported. This table rotatably supports a frame I2 having a rigid metal top plate I3. Frame I2 is pivotally mounted' at I4 so as to be rotated horizontally with respect to the frame III, to adjust the angle of operation. A driven roll I5 is rotatably mounted in bearings at one end of frame I2 and an idle roll I5 is rotatably mounted parallel thereto on the opposite end of the frame. A conveyor belt I'l is trained about these rolls over the top plate I3 and has a face of vulcanized rubber. A roll I8 of sheet rubber is rotatably supported in notched brackets I9, I9 above the belt.

To provide means for pleating the sheet material as it passes from the roll I8 to the belt I l, a shaft 20 is rotatably mountedl in a horizontal position above the belt I'I, in brackets 2l, 2|', fixed to frame III. A shaft 22 is rotatably mounted parallel thereto on the frame I0 below the swiveled frame' I2. A pair of eccentrics 23,- 23 are fixed to shaft 22 and their straps 24, 24' are connected by rods 25, 25', to a pair of arms 26, 26' fixed to shaft 20, the arrangement being such that when shaft 22 is rotated, shaft 20 is given a rocking motion. A motor 21 xed to frame I0, drives shaft 22 through a speed reducer 28, of the worm and gear type, a pair of sprockets 29 and 30, and a chain 3|. A pair of radially slotted arms 32, 32', are xed to shaft 20, one near each end thereof, with their slots parallel to each other and substantially vertical. A pair of cross-heads 33, 33 are slidably mounted in the slots. Each cross-head is formed with a cylindrical' socket in its rear face, which rotatably engages eccentric portions 3,4, 34' of a pair of shafts 35, 35 which shafts are rotatably mounted in brackets 2l, 2I. Shafts 35, 35' each have fixed thereto a pinion 36, 36', each of which meshes with a gear sector 31 31' fixed to shaft 20. The pitch radius of the gear sector is greater than the pitch radius of the pinion. The arrangement is such that as shaft 20 is rocked back and forth, at each end of its swing the cross-heads 33, 33 are moved toward the belt Il and then retracted therefrom. Mounted between the crossheads 33, 33'are a pair of bars 38, 38' to each of which is fixed a pressing blade 39, 39. These blades are adapted to press the sheet material against the face of the belt I1 and to press together the folded material. Preferably the pressing edges of the blades are serrated as shown in Fig. 2. In the case of sheet rubber, the serra.- tions are effective to adhere the folded rubber by a welding or seaxning action at spaced-apart,` small areas along the fold.

In order to provide for adjustment of the overlap of'the pleats. the ends of the bars 54. l5 are and are clamped in place by cap screws- 4I, 4i'

which extend through arcuate slots 42, 42' in the cross-head. f'lhe'arrangement is `such that each bar 5I, "may be accurately adjusted with respect to the cross-heads and by adjustment both bars, the bladesl I5, .85' may be moved farther apart or closer together to change their podtions of contact with the belt and thereforethe overlap of the pleats.

To provide for intermittent movement of the belt between the formation of successive pleats, roll I5 has a bevel pinion 4i, 4l' xed on each end of its shaft, and a shaft 44, 44' journaledin a housing 45, 45 at either end of the roll has a bevel pinion 45, 45' fixed thereto and adapted to drive pinions 45, 45' through idler pinions 41, 41'. Each shaft 44, 44 has a ratchet wheel 45, 45' fixed thereto. A cam 49 may be fixed to shaft -22 at any position along its length. A follower arm is adjustable along the frame l0, and carries a roller 5l which engages the cam. A ratchet lever 52 is plvoted on shaft 44 and carries a pawl 53 which engages the ratchet wheel 48. A connecting rod 54, adjustable as to length, connects arm 50 to arm 52. A tension coil spring 55 is connected between arm 52 and the frame of .the machine and holds the follower against its cam. As the frame I2 may be swung to different positions to change the angle of the pleats, the cam `49 and its follower ymay be shifted to align the cam with the ratchet, and the rod 54 may be adjusted accordingly. At certain positions, the ratchet lever 52 may be changed to pivot on shafty 44 and engage the other ratchet wheel 48'.

To provide for adjustment of the spacing of the pleats, an arm 56 is rotatably mounted on shaft 44 and carries a spring stop pin 51 by which it may be locked in a plurality of positions to a plate 58 fixed to housing 45 and having locking holes 59 formed therein. .An arcuate guard 50 is fixed to the arm 55 over the ratchet wheel 48 and under the pawl 53. As the arm 52 is rocked the pawl 53 slides over the guard and engages the ratchet wheel. By adjusting the guard, the angle of intermittent rotation of the ratchet wheel may be adjusted.

In the operation of the device a roll of sheet material such as unvulcanized rubber or similar plastic preferably dusted on its surface with starch or similar powdered material to prevent premature adhesion, is placed in brackets I9, I9'. The leading end thereofv is passed over bar 38 and under bar 38. As the machine is set in operation blade 39' presses the sheet against the rubber belt I1 along a single line, as shown in Fig. 6. The rubber sheet adheres to the rubber face of the belt at the line due to the fact that the spreading of the sheet and the belt face at the line of contact due to the pressure spreads the starch grains apart a sufficient amount to expose the adhesive plastic. At the next pressr of the sheet. As the pleated material approaches Y theroll Il'itmybe strippedfromthebelt either by the-'operator or by'pulling rolls provided for this purpose. As the adhesion of the sheet to itselfis greater than the adhesion of the sheet to the vulcanixed rubber belt, the pleats. 5 do not pull apart.

After'a sheet of material has been pleated with bias pleats, it may be again run through the machine with the conveyor adjusted at a different angle and a secondset of pleats may be pro-` l0 duced crossing the first set. This provides sheet material of novel. artistic designs.

The invention is applicable to the pleating of sheet materials of .various types, and is useful especially to pleat sheet rubber which may be 1,5 vulcanized after pleating to maintain the pleated and adhered condition permanently.

Variations may be made without departing from the invention as it is dened in the fol- 1 lowing claims. y 9@ I claim! l. Apparatus for forming sheet material suitable for apparel use, said apparatus comprising a movable member, and means diagonal to the path of motion of the material for successively 254 veyor, means for temporarily adhering the sheet of the material thereto in a succession of pleats, and means for adjusting the angular relation of the conveyor and the adhering means to change the angle of the pleats.

4. Apparatus for forming pleated sheet material, said apparatus comprising a movable conveyor, a pair of-pleating blades each'adapted temporarily to adhere the sheet of plastic material to said conveyor by pressing engagement therewith, and means for alternately projecting- 'said blades toward the conveyor in a manner such 50 that the path of one blade intersects the path of the other.

5. Apparatus for forming pleated sheet material, said apparatus comprising a, movable conveyor, a pair of pleating blades each adapted temporarily to adhere a sheet of plastic material to said conveyor by pressing engagement therewith, means for alternately projecting said blades toward the conveyor in a manner such that the path of one blade intersects the path of the other, and means for intermittently advancing said conveyor between successive pairs of blade movements.

6. Apparatus for forming pleated sheet material, said apparatus comprising a movable conveyor, a pair of blades adapted to press a sheet of plastic material against said conveyor, means for intermittently moving one of the blades toward and from the conveyor in a direction at an acute angle thereto and for alternately moving the other blade toward and from the conveyor at an acute angle thereto, the paths of movement of said blades crossing each other, and means for intermittently advancing the conveyor between the cycles of the blade movements.

7. Apparatus as dened by claim 4 in which means is provided for adjusting the length of movements of the conveyor.

8. Apparatus as defined by claim 4 in which means is provided for adjusting the positions of the blades with relation to each other.

9. Apparatus as defined by claim 4 in which means is provided to adjust the angle of the blades with relation to the direction of travel of the conveyor.

l0. Apparatus for pleating sheet material including an adhesive substance, said apparatus comprising a flat movable supporting surface,

and means for forming folds in the sheet material upon said surface including means for adhering.

together the folds in narrow zones extending entirely across the sheet.

l1. Apparatus for pleating sheet material including an adhesive substance, said apparatus comprising a fiat supporting surface, a movable element diagonal to the supporting surface contacting the sheet material upon said surface, and means for moving said element to fold the material into pleats diagonal of the sheet and to press the folds of the material into adhering relation substantially across the entire width of the sheet.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 in which the said movable element comprises a blade extending diagonally across the support and the said moving means swings said element fore and aft of the support to effect the folding and pressing of the sheet material.

13. Apparatus for pleating sheet material including an adhesive substance, said apparatus comprising a supporting surface, and means for guiding the sheet material upon said surface in a succession of pleats, said means comprising a pair of elements fixed in parallel non-contacting relation to each other for alternately engaging the sheet at opposite sides thereof and means for moving said elements and guiding means in unison to effect the folding and to adhere together the folded material while temporarily pressing the material against said supporting surface.

14. Apparatus as dened in claim 13, in which the said moving means is effective to press the material into temporary adhesion with the support in narrow zones extending entirely across the material.

15. Apparatus for making pleated sheet material suitable for apparel use, said apparatus comprising a iiat support, movable in a direct path, means formoving the support step by step, a pressing element for temporarily adhering a sheet of plastic material thereto along a narrow transverse zone entirely across the sheet by movement of the element toward the support during a dwell of the support' between successive movements, a second pressing element for folding the sheet and tacking it to itself by a successive movement of the second said element during the same dwell of the support, and means for moving said elements to eiect said movements.

16. The method of making pleated sheet material including an adhesive substance, which method comprises forming a sheet of the material in successive folds upon a supporting surface, each fold being made by temporarily adhering the material to the supporting surface along a narrow zone extending across the sheet, then folding the material back upon itself and adhering together the folded material and removing the pleated sheet from the supporting surface.

17. The method of making pleated sheet material including an adhesive substance, which method comprises forming a sheet of the material in successive folds upon a supporting surface, each fold being made by temporarily adhering the material to the supporting surface along a narrow zone extending diagonally across the sheet, then folding the material back upon itself and adhering together the folded material.

18. The method of forming pleated sheet material suitable for apparel use, which method comprises advancing sheet material upon a supporting surface, progressively adhering the sheet material along spaced apart narrow zones thereof entirely across the sheet to the supporting surface, progressively folding the material back upon itself at each of the said zones, adhering the folds to provide pleats, and removing the pleated sheet from the supporting surface.

19. The method of making pleated sheet material which comprises advancing a sheet of material in the direction of its length, and diagonally folding the sheet in a series of pleats by a succession of consecutive pressing movements effected in a direction substantially perpendicular to a face of the sheet.

20. The method of making pleated sheet material which comprises feeding the sheet 'of material lengthwise to a substantially flat movable supporting surface, moving the supporting surface step by step, guiding the sheet to the support through guide means alternately advanced and retracted with relation to the direction of travel of the supporting surface, and alternately adhering portions of the sheet arriving at such surface to the supporting surface and to the portions of the sheet material already thereon by successive pressing movements directed toward the supporting surface.

ARTHUR E. COLLINS. 

